Encyclopedia of Women in Comics

MacDonald, Heidi

American comic book writer and editor

MacDonald is a former editor for DC Comics' Vertigo imprint and Disney Adventures. She also is the owner and Editor-In-Chief of The Comics Beat (or The Beat) an award-winning, long-running news blog and website that provides independent journalism, news, reviews, interviews, and opinion pieces about the comics industry and pop culture that was established by MacDonald in 2004. In 2025, The Beat won the Eisner Award for "Best Comics-Related Periodical/Journalism", presented at San Diego Comic-Con.

In 1993 she was one of the founders of Friends of Lulu, an advocacy organization designed to promote readership of comic books by women and the participation of women in the comic book industry.

In 2005, MacDonald was given the Women of Distinction Award by Friends of Lulu.

From about 2006 to 2010, MacDonald also was an editor and writer at Publishers Weekly, where she co-wrote PW Comics Week.

The learn more about Heidi's wonderful contribution to the world of comics and culture, please follow the link https://www.comicsbeat.com/ to the Beat's own website.

Magarian, Florence (1912-1960)

American writer and artist

Florence Lillian See was one of earliest women comic book writer/artists in the Golden Age era of the comic book industry, primarily known for her artwork and cartoons for pulp magazines, from late 1930 to 1947.

Magarian was the co-creator ofThe Black Orchid andThe Jack of Spades, from 1944 to circa 1945, for Consolidated Book Publishers, with her husband, Albert Magarian.

Known work includes Fantastic Adventures (Ziff-Davis, 1939 series) from 1941 to 1945 and from 1947 to 1948 and Amazing Stories (Ziff-Davis, 1938 series) from 1941 to 1944, from 1946 to 1948.

Mandel, Lisa (1977 - )

French bande dessinée comic book author

With Jul Maroh, Mandel co-founded the Collective of female comics creators against sexism (2015) (in French, Collectif des créatrices de bande dessinée contre le sexisme), also widely known as BD Égalité and can be explored in more detail at http://bdegalite.org › english. In 2021, Mandel launched the Exemplaire publishing house, with the subtitle, La maison qui édite autrement (The house that publishes differently).

In September 2013, Lisa Mandel prepared a parody exhibition : Men and comics (Les Hommes et la BD). She gathered the testimonies of thirty female authors on their situation as women in the comics world. In the spring of 2015, ahead of an exhibition entitled Girls' comics (La BD des filles) planned at the Belgian Comic Strip Center, Jul Maroh was asked to participate.

The cartoonist believed that this project was misogynistic: there is no artistic genre called "female comics" (nor "male comics"). This categorization marginalizes female creators, even if some argue that it is a marketing niche. Maroh then contacted 70 female colleagues, half of whom had participated in the 2013 discussion with Mandel. A few days later, 100 professionals joined the debate. They drafted the "Charter of Women Comics Creators Against Sexism," speaking out against the gendered approach to their work and careers, calling on "creators, publishers, institutions, booksellers, librarians and journalists" to detach themselves from gendered stereotypes and denouncing "gendered marketing."

The creation of the collective was announced on September 9, 2015 and opened its website: 147 female creators were members. By January 2018, the group had more than 250 members. The signatories refuse to be part of collections, exhibitions or "women" awards. Testimonials illustrate experiences of discrimination in their profession.

Marble, Alice (1913-1990)

American Tennis Player

One of the most famous tennis players of all time, Marble was also on the DC's editorial advisory board for a brief time after retirement and was credited as associate editor of Wonder Woman from 1941-1945, where she created the "Wonder Women of History" feature for Wonder Woman comics (Wonder Woman #1-#19), telling the stories of notable historical women like Florence Nightingale and Elizabeth Blackwell in comic book format.

Maroh, Jul (1985 - )

French Writer and Illustrator of Graphic Novels

Maroh wrote Blue Is the Warmest Color (Le bleu est une couleur chaude, 'Blue is a Warm Colour'), a story about the life and love of two young lesbians that was adapted by Abdellatif Kechiche into the film Blue Is the Warmest Colour.

Maroh is also the co-founded of the Collective of female comics creators against sexism (2015) with Lisa Mandel. (in French, Collectif des créatrices de bande dessinée contre le sexisme), also widely known as BD Égalité. If you want to learn more about this charter, please head to this link http://bdegalite.org › english. (See Mandel, Lisa for further information)

Marrs, Lee (1945 - )

American cartoonist and animator

Marrs is considered to be one of the first female underground comix creators. She is best known for the comic book series The Further Fattening Adventures of Pudge, Girl Blimp, which lasted from 1973-1977.

She was also one of the founders of Wimmen's Comix. She was one of the few underground cartoonists to also work for mainstream comics publishers, and one of the first women to work for DC Comics and Marvel Comics simultaneously.

Marston, Elizabeth Holloway (1893-1993)

British-born American Attorney and Psychologist

Marston is credited, with her husband William Moulton Marston, with the development of the systolic blood pressure measurement used to detect deception, the predecessor to the polygraph.

She is also credited as an inspiration for her husband's comic book creation Wonder Woman, along with their polyamorous life partner, Olive Byrne.

William Moulton Marston wanted to create a new superhero that would promote a global psychic revolution by forsaking Biff! Bam! and Ka-Runch! for The Power of Love. At which, Elizabeth suggested that it should be a woman instead.

Martin, Cynthia "Cindy" (1961 - )

American comic book artist

Martin is best known for her work on the Marvel Comics' Star Wars title during the mid-1980s.

Martin's clean lines and strong sense of movement during action scenes set her apart from other Star Wars artists of the time in addition to being one of the few women working in American comic books. Her work displayed the influence of Japanese manga long before it became common in American comics.

Cynthia Martin's first published comic book was the Ms. Victory Special #1 (AC Comics, 1985). She then got the Star Wars assignment at Marvel Comics, where she drew the covers for issues #92 and 93, and then pencilled most of the issues between #94 and 107. She collaborated with writer Ann Nocenti on a three-part storyline which appeared in the Spider-Man titles in December 1987 and had a memorable run on 'Web of Spider-man'.

At DC Comics, Martin worked on Wonder Woman and the War of the Gods limited series with George Pérez. Martin has also worked for Dark Horse Comics, Eclipse Comics, First Comics, Topps Comics, and a number of other small press publishers.

Martin, Laura DePuy (1971 - )

American comic book colorist

Martin is a colorist who has worked in comics professionally since 1995 producing work for several major comic book companies like DC Comics, Marvel Comics and CrossGen.

After being hired in 1995, Martin served for five years as a staff colorist and assistant supervisor for WildStorm Studios. Among her earliest works was the collaboratively-colored Marvel/Image (WildStorm) two-issue mini-series Backlash/Spider-Man (Jul-Oct 1996), after which she co-colored issues of Divine Right and StormWatch.

In 1999, after the sale of WildStorm to DC Comics, DePuy became sole colorist on Warren Ellis and John Cassaday's Planetary series, as well as Ellis and Bryan Hitch's Authority.

From November 2001's Ruse #1, Martin worked on a handful of non-CrossGen comics (occasional issues of Planetary) until summer 2004. In addition to Ruse, she also colored Edge as well as occasional issues of Meridian, Negation and Sojourn, before the companies ultimate collapse.

in late 2004, Martin began working primarily for Marvel comics coloring on Universe-X, the first issue of Joss Whedon's acclaimed Astonishing X-Men series (2004), the main parts of Paul Jenkins' Civil War: Front Line for Marvel's "Civil War" event (2006), and Joseph Michael Straczynski and Olivier Coipel's Thor (2007).

She has been recognized for her work with six Eagle Awards (2000–2001, 2005–2008) as well as winning two Eisner Awards for Best Colorist (2000) and (2002), and the Harvey Award between the Eisners in 2001. In August 2014, she was named Inkwell Awards Ambassador, an appointment she holds to the present.

To learn more about Laura Martin's extensive colorist career in the comic book industry, please follow the link, https://www.lauramartinart.com to her official website.

McCrillis, Tara

American comic book president and co-publisher

McCrillis is a co-publisher at IDW Media Holdings. In 2019, she joined IDW Publishing as Director of Design & Production, responsible for project management between the Editorial, Digital Design and Operations departments and was promoted to her current position in 2023 as the President Publishing Operation.

McKean, Emma C. (1907-1992)

American cartoonist and illustrator

As a contributer to New Comics #1, McKean was the first woman to contribute original comics material to a comic book.

In 1935, New Comics #1 was published by DC Comics's forerunner National Allied Newspaper Syndicate; it was the first comic book to contain original comics material instead of newspaper strip reprints. As "Ema Keen", McKean contributed the one-page "Sister and Brother" feature, as well as an activity page. While the issue also contained text pieces by Connie Naar and Josephine Craig, McKean was the only woman to contribute comics material. She subsequently contributed an activity page to New Comics #2 and a feature called "Sara Lou Sunshine" to New Comics #3 and 4, also making her the first known woman to create a recurring comic book character. She also worked on Dell Publications' Looney Tunes licensed comics in the early 1940s. Also in the 1940s, she illustrated a number of children's books.

McNeil, Carla "Speed"(1969 - )

American science-fiction writer, cartoonist, and illustrator of comics

They are best known for They're science fiction comic book Finder, which They began self-publishing in 1996. In 2005, They published Finder as a webcomic. The comic was published and available on They're website until it began getting published by Dark Horse Comics (2011).

A majority of McNeil's career has focused on collaborations with other comic artists and writers, including the likes of Warren Ellis, Greg Rucka, Alex De Campi and Sara Ryan just to name a few, as well as working on numorous anthologies.

In 1997, at San Diego Comic-Con, McNeil won the Lulu Awards' Kimberly Yale Award for Best New Talent for their work on Finder and Shanda the Panda. McNeil also won the Ignatz Award for Promising New Talent in 1998.

McTeigue, Dawn

Canadian comic book artist

Dawn McTeigue's work hsa appeared in Marvel, DC Comics, Rothic, Coffin Comics, and many more. She is also co-creator & primary artist for the DiVinica series with JP Roth.

McTeigue is also a livestreamer and creator of designer art cases at Tempermentals.

To explore more of Dawn's gorgeous artwork, please follow the link https://www.dawnmcteigue.com to her own official website.

Medrano, Karla

American writer, actress, publisher and podcaster

Also known as "Moon the Storyteller", Medrano is best known for her weekly podcast, Ororo Comics Podcast (2024), which covers topics such as health, culture, comics, and TV recommendations, and can be seen on Spotify and YouTube.

Medrano is also the founder of Blaq Girl Comics, which is a publishing company celebrating the power and imagination of Brown and Blaq girls through fantasy and speculative fiction and the Zelda Awards (April 2026) named in honor of the first African-American Cartoonist, Zelda Jackson Ormes (Jackie Ormes). The Zelda Awards were created to honor the women of comics, the visionaries whose brilliance is too often overlooked during award season.

If you're interested in learning more about Medrano's publishing company, Blaq Girl Comics and their mission, please follow this link https://blaqgirlcomics.com or for more information about the Zelda Awards and where you can make submissions or nominations and other questions, please visit thezeldaawards.org. The Ororo Comics Podcast can be seen here on YouTube or on here on Spotify.

Melo, Adriana (1976 - )

Brazillian comic book artist, colorist and penciller

Melo has worked on various Star Wars, Marvel Comics, and DC Comics titles. Notably, she worked on the Star Wars: Empire series. She has also worked on DC Comics' Rose & Thorn and Birds of Prey as well as Top Cow's Witchblade and Marvel Comics Ms. Marvel.

In 2018 she collaborated with writer Gail Simone on a six-issue DC miniseries featuring Plastic Man.

Her first job was working on a special editions for LucasArts that produced the Star Wars: Empire magazine series where she worked with Ron Marz. At the same time, she also worked on the DC Comic miniseries Rose & Thorn, contributed to art for Birds of Prey (including covers), Emma Frost, and illustrated pinups for Samurai: Heaven & Earth.

Eventually, she would pencil for Witchblade in which she worked with Ron Marz to create the character Danielle Baptiste. Adriana became the first woman to draw this character in Justiceiro, which is a Punisher-Witchblade crossover.

Melo participated in the comic anthology Puerto Rico Strong, which won the 2019 Eisner Award for Best Anthology.

Recently, Adriana has worked on Sinestro Corps Special: Parallax, Ms. Marvel Jackpot, and collaborated on volume 2 of Birds of Prey.

To see more of her work, please follow the link https://www.adrianamelo.com, to her official website.

Mendes, Barbara "Willy" (1948 - )

American cartoonist, fine artist, and member of the underground comix movement

Mendes is best known for her work alongside Trina Robbins on It Ain't Me Babe (1970, by Last Gasp) the first comic produced entirely by women, and All Girl Thrills (1971, by the Print Mint).

Messick, Dale (1906-2005)

American comic strip artist

Dalia Messick was the creator of the comic strip Brenda Starr, Reporter and was the first woman (along with Marie Severin) to be inducted in the Will Eisner Comics Hall of Fame in 2001.

Her break came when she came to the attention of another woman, Mollie Slott, who worked as a "girl Friday" for New York Daily News publisher (and syndicate head) Joseph Medill Patterson. Patterson, reputedly biased against female cartoonists, would not sign her up for daily publication in the News, but he accepted Brenda Starr, Reporter for syndication as a Sunday comic, and it made its debut on June 30, 1940. The strip was an immediate success, since the mix of adventure and romance was popular with both male and female readers. By 1945, the strip was syndicated nationally and published daily.

Messick stopped drawing the strip in 1980 and ended her role writing the script two years later. Ramona Fradon (artist) and Linda Sutter (writer) took over production of the strip. Mary Schmich took over as writer in 1985, and June Brigman as artist in 1995. The final strip was published on January 2, 2011.

Meyer, Helen Honig (1907-2003)

American comic book publisher

Meyer was the president of Dell Publishing from the 1950s until 1976. Meyer began working at Dell Publishing only two years after its creation, and was influential in building up both the traditional book publishing arm and the popular Dell Comics imprint. As the first woman to head a major American publishing house, Meyer inspired many other women who were breaking into publishing in the forties and fifties, and more generally shaped American publishing through her leadership of Dell.

Through its use of licensed characters and family-friendly stories, Dell Comics became the world's largest comics publisher by 1953. In particular, Meyer spearheaded the licensing of Disney characters and directly selected material for publication, including Lobo, the first comic series with an African-American headlining character.

Milano, Kelly Sue (1984 - )

American comic book company owner, writer and former actress

Milano is one of the co-founders of the all-woman, 100% creator-owned independent comic book company Hexcomics (2014) and is the writer of their ongoing fantasy series about techno-witchcraft HEX11.

Their famous and most popular title HEX11, which is the epic story of a young witch living in a futuristic dystopia where magic has been discovered as a new technology, has sold over 70,000 copies worldwide and has been picked up by the Los Angeles Public Library. It was also an inaugural nominee for the prestigious Dwayne McDuffie Award for Diversity in Comics.

Along with Lynly Forrest and Lisa K. Weber, Milano has served as an instructor for the Comic Book Heroes class at the Otis College of Art and Design since 2019.

To learn more about Milano and Hexcomics, please follow the link https://hexcomix.com/ to the official website.

Mills, June Tarpé (1912-1988)

Comic book creator

One of the first major female comic artists. She is best known for her action comic strip Miss Fury, featuring the first female action hero created by a woman (1941 - 1952).

Before this success, she had already created comic characters such as Devil's Dust, The Cat Man, The Purple Zombie and Daredevil Barry Finn. Born June Mills, she changed her name to the more sexually ambigious "Tarpe", believing that the readers of her action-filled comics would be disappointed if they found out that they were created by a woman.

Mizuno, Hideko 水野英子 (1939 - )

Japanese mangaka

Mizuni is one of the first successful female Japanese shōjo manga artists. She was an assistant of Osamu Tezuka staying in Tokiwa-sō (which was an apartment building in Toshima, Tokyo, Japan famous for being the early living-quarters of many prominent manga artists). She made her professional debut in 1955 with Akakke Kōma Pony, a Western story with a tomboy heroine. She became a prominent shōjo artist in the 1960s and 1970s, starting with White Troika, which serialized in Margaret in 1963.

Mizuno is best known for Fire! (1969–1971), one of the first shōjo manga with a boy protagonist, for which she won the 1970 Shogakukan Manga Award. Her Honey Honey no Suteki na Bouken (1966) was adapted as an anime television series, licensed in English as Honey Honey on CBN Cable Network.

Montellier, Chantel (1947 - )

French comics creator, artist, editorial cartoonist, novelist, and painter

As the first female editorial cartoonist in France, Montellier is noted for pioneering women's involvement in comic books and being one of the rare comic book artists to have proclaimed (and to continue to proclaim) her political and feminist engagement in her work.

Starting in 1972, she worked as an editorial cartoonist for Combat syndicaliste, Politis, Maintenant, L'Humanité, L'Autre Journal, Marianne, France nouvelle, and Révolution, among others, at a time when she was the only woman exercising her talents in the male-dominated field of work.

As a comics creator, she contributed notably at Charlie Mensuel, Métal Hurlant, Ah ! Nana , (À suivre), and Psikopat.

Montellier began publishing comic strips such as Andy Gang in Charlie Mensuel in 1974 and in the French feminist comics magazine Ah! Nana in 1976. Her dystopian strip 1996, originally appearing in Métal Hurlant, was reprinted in Heavy Metal in the United States in the late 1970s, bringing her work to the notice of Anglophone readers.

In 2007 she co-founded, with Jeanne Puchol, the Prix Artémisia named for Artemisia Gentileschi, a prize annually awarded to comics created by one or more women.

Mouly, Françoise (1955 - )

French-born American designer, editor and publisher

Mouly is best known as the co-founder, co-editor, and publisher of the comics and graphics magazine Raw (1980-1984, 1986, 1989-1991) where many of the majority of the magazine's design were her achievement and later as the Publisher of TOON Books (2008) which specializes in children's comic books made by professional cartoonists to encourage reading. As editor and publisher, Mouly has had a significant impact on the development of both adult and children's comics for over a quarter of a century.

Since 1993, She has been the art editor of The New Yorker, where she put the emphasis back on eye-catching and thought-provoking illustrations. She, for instance, designed the famous 9/11 cover (2001),

As editor and publisher, Mouly has had considerable influence on the rise in production values in the English-language comics world since the early 1980s. She has played a role in providing outlets to new and foreign cartoonists, and in promoting comics as a serious artform and as an educational tool. The French government decorated Mouly as a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in 2001, and as Knight of the Legion of Honour in 2011.

Mouly is married to cartoonist Art Spiegelman, and is the mother of writer Nadja Spiegelman.

Myhre, Lisa (1975 - )

Norwegian cartoonist

Creator of the comic character goth girl Nemi, regarded as one of the largest commercial comic successes in Norway, originally created in 1997.

Nemi debuted in her own comic strip in 1999 and then in her own comic in 2003. Nemi has been published in about 150 newspapers and websites and is widely regarded as a modern classic alongside other popular Norwegian comics.

Mulivihill, Patricia "Trish"

American comic book colorist

Mulivihill has worked in the comics industry since the age of 28 with her first job being for DC comics on Wonder Woman. She is best known for working on Batman, 100 Bullets, and Wonder Woman and won the Eisner Award for Best Colorist in 2004 for her work on those titles.

In both 1995 and 1996, Mulvihill won the Don Thompson Award for "Best Achievement by a Colorist".

Patricia colored most issues of Wonder Woman (Volume 2) starting with Wonder Woman (Volume 2) #78 in September 1993 until Wonder Woman (Volume 2) #200 in March 2004.

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